Electrical conductor



Original Filed Dec. 18, 1925 Y A. 6. 2R @www A 2S ATTORNEY Patented Mar.17, 1936 UNITED s'rn'rlazs PATENT OFFICE ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR Dwight R..G. Palmer, South Orange, N. J., as-

signor to General Cable Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation ofNew Jersey 1 Claim.

My invention relates broadly to electrical conductors and moreparticularly to a construction of electrical conductor particularlyadapted for use in the wiring of buildings and residences for 5 powerand lighting current supply to outlets throughout the building.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an electrical assemblywhich may be manufactured more inexpensively than assemblies heretoforeemployed for performing the same service, where less material isrequired in the manufacture of the assembly, and smaller overall size ofthe assembly is secured than has heretofore been possible in wiringconstructed for a similar purpose.

Another object of my invention is to provide a conductor in which ahousing sheath is arranged to enclose an insulated and uninsulatedelectrical conductor where the uninsulated electrical conductor liesadjacent the interior wall of the sheath, the insulated conductor beingfor the purpose of carrying current while the uninsulated conductorserves for the grounded side of the circuit, that is the neutralconductor, and for polarity identication.

By reason of the construction of the conductor which I provide, I amenabled to` save considerable material in its manufacture and yetprovide a safe electrical conductor for performing all of the functionsof more expensive conductors here= tofore available in the art.

This application is a division of my copending application forElectrical conductors, led December 18, 1925, Serial No. 76,182,patented June 11, 1935, No. 2,004,901.

My invention will be more fully understood from the followingspecification by reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a cable partially broken away toillustrate the principle of my invention; and l Fig. 2 is across-sectional View taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

In the standard wiring of buildings orresidences it is customary toemploy flexible armored cable constituted by two or more insulatedconductors housed within a flexible armor. In two conductor cable onewire conveys the current to the service outlet while the other wire isgrounded or is neutral and provides the return channel. Both conductorsare generally rubber insulated and are mechanically protected by the useof cotton braids or with other insulating or metallic protection. Iprovide an insulated metallic conductor and an uninsulated conductor ofnon-corrosive metal which extends parallel to, adjacent to, or isspiralled around the insulated conductor forming a member adjacent tothe insulated conductor or conductors and the inner wall of the armor orsheathing. By virtue of the relatively small diameter of the uninsulatedconductor the outer armor or sheathing is substantially smaller indiameter than the diameter of armored cable heretofore required in thiswork. A substantial saving in the material in the manufacture of theassembly is therefore obtained.

Referring to the drawing in more detail, reference character Idesignates a metallic conductor; 2 an insulating covering; 3 a braid orbraids thereover impregnated or finished with a moisture repellent. Aflexible armor or sheath 6 of fibrous material encases the coveredconductor I, and interposed between the outer covering 3 and the innerwall of the sheathing 6 I pro-l vide an auxiliary conductor 5 ofnon-corrosive metal, As represented in Fig. 1, the auxiliary conductor 5is twisted around the insulated conductor immediately beneath thefibrous pro-- tector 6.

I have found that electrical conductors manufactured in accordance withmy invention, described herein, are practical in manufacture andinstallation and while I have described preferred embodiments of myinvention, I desire that it be understood that modifications may be madeand that no limitations upon the invention are intended other than thoseimposed by the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim and desire'to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis as follows:

A non-metallic sheathed, two conductor electrical building cablecomprising, in combination, a central conductor to be connected in thehigh potential side of an electrical circuit, a body of insulatingcompound enclosing said conductor, a braid enclosing the insulatedconductor, a bare neutral conductor of substantially the samecrosssection as the central'conductor to be connected with the groundedside of the electrical circuit for carrying the return current disposedhelically with a long lay and widely spaced turns about the insulatedcentral conductor over the braid, and a flexible non-metallic protectivesheath comprising a braid surrounding the insulated central conductorand the helically disposed bare neutral conductor and constituting theouter covering for the cable.

DWIGHT R. G. PALMER.

